Common man`s problems never end: director Neeraj Pandey

Kolkata: As a filmmaker who will never run out of gritty tales about the `Aam Admi`, `A Wednesday` director Neeraj Pandey says he feels for the man on the streets.

"As a filmmaker one can never run out of the tales about the struggle faced by the common man. You all encounter everyday glitches in life, from terrorism scare to ration shortage in a city," said Neeraj, recalling how the Naseeruddin-starrer `A Wednesday` happened much before the common man issue hit page one. "Actually I am enamoured by the tale of everyday people we get to hear. This gives rise to the story and scripting," Neeraj, who would rate `Special 26`, the thriller heist film starring Akshay Kumar as next to his more realistic `A Wednesday`. "`Special 26` is also the tale of common man, but the common con man," he quipped. Neeraj said he was happy to know that `A Wednesday` had been recommended for viewing by then Kolkata Police Commissioner Goutam Mohan Chakraborty for police personnel. Coming to his upcoming release `Total Siyapaa`, a love story with a twist, Neeraj said, "It is a departure from the earlier genre and an out and out comedy." The film will be released in March, he said. `Total Siyapaa` boasts of a star cast that includes Ali Zafar, Yami Gautam, Kiron Kher and Anupam Kher. Neeraj, however, won`t spill the beans about his second project with Akshay Kumar. "Yes I am working on a script. But it is too early to talk on that," he said refusing to elaborate on the cast. Talking about his film `Royal Bengal Tiger` starring Bengali film actors Jeet and Abir Chatterjee, his debut Bengali film as scriptwriter, Neeraj said, "It is kind of retelling the story of the common man in Bengali after `A Wednesday` and `Special 26` in another milieu. "You can say making films comes naturally when you inherently put in contention the saga of common man. Also, since I hail from this city (Howrah to be precise) it was in fitness of things that I named it Royal Bengal Tiger, a name having Bengal connection," he said. Neeraj`s another production `Saat Ucchakey`, starring Manoj Bajpayee, K K Menon, Anu Kapoor and Aditi Sharma shall also release next year.